Unexpected Reactions
by Jaida857
Summary: "I just found out that earlier this summer, you built a roller coaster," said Linda, shaking her head. "How am I supposed to react?" -Complete
1. You Are So Busted!

**There have only been a few times in the show where Phineas and Ferb have gotten "busted", and their mother has reacted badly each time. However, something always happened so that they were never really busted. I decided to write this two chapter one-shot about what I think Linda's reaction should be. Hope you like it!**

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><p>Today was going to be the day! She could just feel it!<p>

To Candace Flynn, those few seconds while she waited for her mom to pull into the driveway were like an eternity. Every single day that summer she had tried, and failed, to bust her brothers. But somehow, almost every single one of their inventions had managed to disappear. The only ones that her mom _had _ seen were little things that weren't really enough to get anyone in trouble for. Today, her brothers had built an obstacle course that used their anti-gravity fun launcher so that they could do the course in mid-air. Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, and Irving had come over to play on it as well. Candace had called her mom the moment she saw it, and now she heard her pulling into the driveway. The teenage girl sighed. Something was probably going to happen that made everything go back to normal before her mom saw it, but she still went out to drag her into the backyard.

"Mom, Phineas and Ferb built an anti-gravity obstacle course in the backyard!" Candace exclaimed. "You have to come bust them right now!"

"Alright Candace," sighed Linda, "there's no need to drag me. I don't want to ruin another pair of perfectly good shoes."

The gate door swung open, and Candace closed her eyes, waiting for her mother to shake her head and offer everyone snacks as usual. The one thing that Candace wasn't prepared for, however, was exactly what happened.

"Oh my gosh!" Linda exclaimed. "What is this?"

Candace's eyes snapped open. She actually stopped breathing for a moment at the sight before her.

Everything was still there. The kids were all floating in mid-air, doing flips and zooming through an obstacle course that was set up ten feet above their heads.

Phineas was just coming down to the ground, his fifteen or so minutes of anti-gravity being up. He waved to his mom and sister when he saw them.

"Hi mom! Hi Candace! Do you guys want to try?"

Linda was practically speechless, as was Candace, but the former managed to shake it off and speak.

"Phineas," she said very, very calmly, "would you please explain to me what this is?"

Phineas, completely oblivious as to what the real situation was, was happy to oblige.

"You see, we re-built our anti-gravity fun launcher that we made earlier this summer. Then we built this obstacle course so that we could combine both and make a course above ground! I mean, obstacle courses on the ground are fun, but in mid-air, they're about a hundred times better!"

Linda stared blankly at her son, and then turned to the course. It had hopes, ropes, trapezes, and swinging logs to avoid while you floated upside down through a ring of fire. The kids had all stopped doing the course to observe the situation unfolding in front of them. Linda squeezed her eyes closed, while Candace seemed to regain her ability to speak.

"WOOHOO! I did it! I finally busted Phineas and Ferb! I knew I could do it! You all thought I was crazy, but I did it!"

Linda put up a hand for her daughter to be quiet. She opened her eyes, and then pointed to the obstacle course.

"Alright, I need a moment to think," she said, directing her attention at Phineas. "Please tell your friends to go home, and then get your brother and the three of you can wait on the couch while I decide what to do here."

Linda then walked inside the house, leaving a very confused Phineas staring after her.

"I don't get it Candace, why is mom acting like that?"

Candace was still feeling dizzy from her sudden victory, but she managed to answer her younger brother calmly.

"Did it ever occur to you how dangerous this device is?"

Phineas shook his head, still very confused, but as he talked, he began realizing something that he never had before.

"Well, no, it's not dangerous actually. The fire isn't real, and the logs are actually made of the same material as a bounce house, and we're all wearing helmets that just look like our hair. They're more comfortable that way. And we didn't need building permits for this one, because it's small, but we always have the permits for anything that we do need them for. We quadruple check all of our safety precautions, and if there's ever even the slightest mistake, we, we start all over again. But, I mean, I guess it doesn't look like that to anyone else. I guess to mom, it could look, kind of dangerous. I mean..."

Phineas trailed off, his eyes cast down. It had taken him a while, but the young inventor finally came to the realization that some of the things they did would look a little questionable. Their mom didn't know everything that he just explained to his sister. Phineas sighed, and told his friends that it was time to go home. They all went without question, because they had all seen and heard what had just happened, and didn't want to make things worse. Phineas and Ferb both walked inside and sat down on the couch.

Candace, while still reeling from her victory, suddenly realized something as well. She really had no idea what was going to happen now. Did she really expect that there would just be a two week grounding, and then her family would be normal? If her mom reacted badly, her whole life could change. And so she walked inside and sat down next to her brothers, thinking hard. She had finally done it, so she should be happy. She should still be jumping up and down in joy, and everything should turn out great.

But for the first time in a long time, Candace Flynn took a reality check. Life wasn't that easy. Things were going to change now. She just had to hope that they would change for the better, for everyone.

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><p><strong>The next, and last, chapter will be up tomorrow night at the latest. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!<strong>


	2. Mom's Decision

**Hey. Sorry I didn't update as soon as I promised. I sort of got "busted" myself by my dad who told me to get off the computer and go to bed. But I managed to get it finished now, so I hope you like it!**

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><p>Candace paced the living room anxiously, not saying a word to anyone. Phineas sat on the couch with his knees pulled up to his chin, looking worried. Ferb, sitting on the other side of the couch, looked pretty emotionless as usual, but inside he was slightly panicked. He was probably the least worried of the three of them, but he knew better than to try to start a conversation. Everyone needed a few minutes to think. Ferb was, in his head, going through all the projects they had done that summer, trying to find something that was <em>actually <em>dangerous. So far he couldn't think of anything, but they had certainly built some questionable looking machines in the past.

Candace, instead of cheering and calling Stacy and generally freaking out about her success, was going through all the worst case scenarios in her head. Her little brothers, her amazing, creative, extraordinary little brothers, could be sent away, and she'd never see them again for who knows how long. It took her finally succeeding to realize that this wasn't what she really wanted. Of course she wanted them to get in trouble, but nothing too serious. She had always imagined that busting her brothers would be some glorious achievement that made her life better. But did she really want to ruin her brother's lives to make that happen?

Phineas probably had the worst of it. All it took was one look from their mother for him to see their projects through someone else's eyes. What if what they did really was dangerous? He had always thought that if the safety precautions checked out, then everything was fine, but it never occurred to him that the technical side of it wasn't always enough. Of course most of the time they told their mom what they were doing, but not always. She always acted as if it were just some huge game, as if they were only pretending. Did she really have no clue? Phineas sighed.

The one thing that they all knew for sure was that something was going to change.

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><p>About twenty minutes after she had gone upstairs, Linda came down, her expression unreadable. Candace immediately stopped pacing and snapped her head around to watch her mother come into the living room. Ferb blinked, quiet as usual. Phineas glanced up and then sat up straight, waiting along with his siblings for their mother to talk.<p>

"I've decided to take this slowly," said Linda. "I'm not going to yell, I'm not going to freak out, and I'm going to listen to what each of you has to say. Because you're father isn't here, I'll make the decision myself. In the end, I'll handle things in the way that I think will be best for everyone."

Both boys said nothing, while Candace nodded slowly and sat down in between her brothers on the couch.

"Alright, Candace, I'd like to hear from you first. Just answer me one question. Has everything that you've ever told me that the boys have done been true?"

The teenage girl took a deep breath before replying.

"Yes, mom," she said, "everything. The roller coaster, the backyard beach, the tree-house robots, the giant spinning tops, the world's tallest building. Almost every single day they've built something, and you've never seen it until now. Somehow everything has always managed to disappear before you come home. But for some strange reason, today, you actually saw it."

Phineas, who had been staring down the whole time, snapped his head up when Candace finished talking. Everyone turned to look at him, and they were all extremely surprised to see him practically glaring at his sister. No one was more surprised than Candace herself.

"Phineas, would you like to add something?" inquired Linda, still remaining as calm as she possibly could, although she was rather surprised at her son's expression. Phineas slowly stopped glaring and sighed, shaking his head.

"No, I'm fine. Sorry Candace."

"Alright," Linda said after a moment, "I understand that this isn't easy for any of us, so I won't force anyone to talk. However, I do need to get all of the information so that I can decide what I should do."

"Mom, I need to say something," Candace said suddenly.

"One moment please, honey," Linda replied.

"No mom! I need to say it now!"

Phineas shook his head, putting his hand on his older sister's shoulder.

"Candace, you know what, it's okay. This isn't your fault. Isn't this what you wanted anyways?"

"Well, I… I guess it is," Candace said, trailing off. Linda put her hands to the sides of her head and closed her eyes briefly.

"Alright, boys, I have a question for you. Do you two realize how dangerous that device is? Swinging logs, hoops of fire? And now that I know you've done all those other dangerous things without my permission?"

"Well mom," started Phineas, "you see, I actually explained this to Candace earlier. The fire isn't real, and the logs are just inflatable, and we all had helmets on, and we checked everything over at least three times before even testing it. I suppose that wasn't really obvious at first glance though. This morning we told you we were making an obstacle course. And I think we do tell you what we're planning on building, at least most of the time, but I don't think you ever really believe us."

"Honey, you're 10 years old! You're not supposed to be building anti-gravity whatever launchers in the backyard! How did you even get the supplies for all that? Who sold it to you?"

"We've been building for long enough to know the best places to get titanium steel plates, half a mile of wiring, and 50 pounds of frozen hydrogen."

Linda's eyebrows rose exponentially at what Phineas was saying. Who would sell those things to a kid? She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. While she thought, Ferb decided that it was time to speak up.

"Although it's true that we always take the proper safety precautions, it was very irresponsible of us not to fully ask for your permission first. I'm sorry mum."

Phineas nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, we're really sorry. I guess we thought what we _did _say was enough, but it wasn't."

"You know boys," said Linda, "it's great that you're taking an interest in building, but it needs to be safe. And by that I also mean age appropriate building. Like that fort you made earlier this summer."

"Uh, mom, actually, that was only the top of a few hundred feet tall building."

A small smile crossed onto Linda's face. Although she was not even the slightest bit prepared for what had happened, things didn't really seem as bad as they had at first glance. She noticed Phineas watching her curiously, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Yes dear?" she said, and Phineas thought for a moment before speaking.

"You're being very relaxed about this. After I thought about it for a bit, I thought you'd be angry."

"I just found out that earlier this summer, you built a roller coaster," said Linda, shaking her head. "How am I supposed to react?"

"Yeah, I guess it's not exactly your average situation."

"No, it's most definitely not."

Candace, who had resigned to being quiet for a while, finally couldn't contain herself anymore.

"Can I please say something now?" she asked anxiously. Linda nodded for her daughter to speak.

"I know that this is what I've been wanting since the summer started, but you can't get them in trouble for it! It's just as much my fault as theirs. I've actually helped them before with some of their crazy projects. Sure, ground us for a year if you want, but don't send them away, please! I didn't realize what would happen if you ever actually saw. I just…"

Candace trailed off, tears coming to her eyes. Phineas put his hand back on her shoulder, while Linda smiled and gave each of her kids a hug.

"I'm sorry that I never believed you Candace. This whole time you were only trying to show me what the boys were doing. I promise from now on I'll listen to you when you're trying to tell me something important like this. The only thing that matters though is that everyone is okay. I'm going to need to make some phone calls and have the obstacle course checked over by professionals, of course. But as long as you guys really were being safe, I see no need for anyone to be in any trouble. As for what you've built in the past, I agree that most of the time you did have my permission, even if I wasn't aware of it."

Phineas and Ferb both nodded, Phineas speaking up first.

"Don't worry mom," he said, "from now on we'll always ask you before we do anything."

"I think I know who you want to call," added Ferb. "I'll get you the numbers if you'd like."

"Alright, sweetie. Phineas, Candace, why don't you two wait here until we're done."

"Okay mom!"

Linda and Ferb walked into the kitchen to get the phone, because Linda definitely wanted to have a chat with their suppliers. Selling to 10 year olds without parental permission? They were certainly going to get an earful from her.

While they were busy, Phineas and Candace sat on the couch waiting, the later with tears still in her eyes.

"What's the matter Candace?" inquired Phineas, looking slightly worried. Candace sighed.

"I'm sorry. This is entirely my fault. Do you realize that mom could have sent you off to some military school?"

"I was aware that that was an option, but it all worked out. The obstacle course will pass the safety inspection, and then everything will be fine."

"Except for it won't be! Not for me anyways. What if mom tells you that you can't build things anymore? I know that's all I've been trying to make happen this whole summer, but I guess it was just because I was jealous of you two."

"You were jealous of us?" asked Phineas, confused now. "Why?"

"Look at the things that you can do! You're 10 years old and you built a roller coaster. What have I done?"

"But you've done lots of those things with us. You travelled through time twice. You're Queen of Mars. You drove chariots through downtown, had a tree house robot fight, you went around the world following the sun! You did all that too!"

"Well, I guess you're right."

"And, even though you didn't build those things with us, you could from now on. We've asked you before if you wanted to help, but whenever we have you've always run off screaming "MOM, MOM!" and you never got the chance. If you want to help from now on, you can."

"Phineas, you're actually asking me to help you with your crazy, impossible inventions?"

"Well, yeah. You're my sister. Why wouldn't I want you to have fun with us?"

The tears that had been threatening to spill through the entire conversation finally poured out of Candace's eyes. She pulled her brother in for a huge hug.

She had been right. Everything had changed. But it was most definitely for the better.

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><p>"Alright, I've decided what I'm going to do," announced Linda. Thirty minutes and a half a dozen phone calls later, Linda stood in the living room with her three kids sitting on the couch, anxiously waiting for her decision.<p>

"After all of my phone calls, I've decided that no one is in any trouble. Boys, you're free to continue building, however, I want you to come to me first with everything, and you need to always be supervised by a responsible adult, which will usually either mean me or your father, or Candace."

"Wait," said Candace, "you're letting me supervise them?"

"Of course dear. Even if you don't realize it yet, you're very responsible in my eyes. I'm sure that you'd be perfect to keep everyone safe and out of trouble."

"Wow, thanks mom," said Candace, her eyes tearing up slightly once again.

"And another thing, boys, I want all of your blueprints checked to make sure that they pass every safety test."

Linda went over and hugged each of her kids again.

"I love you guys, and only want what's best for everyone. As long as you're being safe, I see no reason for anything to change, except that I want to be in the know now. And I'll be expecting a lot less phone calls from Candace."

"Don't worry mom, my busting days are over."

"Now, there's just one last thing to settle."

"What's that mom?" asked Phineas. A small smile found its way to Linda's face.

"I know I'm the mom, and I'm supposed to be responsible here, but may I please try your obstacle course?"

Phineas smiled wide.

"C'mon, I'll show you how it works."

The four of them walked into the backyard, Phineas explaining the course to their mom. Something had changed in each of them today. A change, that as Candace had realized earlier, was perfectly fine for everyone.


	3. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

I wasn't planning on continuing this story, but if anyone wants me to add a few more chapters then just let me know in a review. I'd only add a few more, but yeah. If you want more just let me know. I'd be happy to oblige.

~jaida857


	4. Author's Note 2

**Author's Note 2:**

Okay, I've had enough people ask me to continue this, so I will, however, I'm in the middle of another story, so I'm going to wait until I'm pretty much done that one before getting in to a new one, no matter how short it is. It can be very distracting to try to write two stories at once. I hope that's fine with you guys.

~Jaida857


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